Potpourri of tidbits about Tamil cinema - Vittalacharya
Excerpts from my conversation with him:
Q: Is there any specific reason for your producing only films based on fantasy?
A: My films would always be very entertaining packed with special effects of ‘Mayajaal’ and fantasy. My wish is that people from all walks of life should see my films and to achieve this goal, the film should be out and out popular and entertaining. I decided that the formula for all my films should be magnificent sets that would create illusionary effects, tales of princes and princesses, thrilling fights, exciting and romantic song sequences without vulgarity, etc. I produced one or two films with themes based on the deteriorating values in the society but as they all failed I charted out my own path after this bitter experience.
Q: There’s a complaint that you would change the story transforming the characters of those artistes who give problem in call-sheet into animals …
A: I would take separate shots of the hero, heroine, villain and the comedian as entering the underworld or getting into the sea. If they give problem during the shooting, I would change the story accordingly, depicting the concerned character as being cursed by a sorcerer, God or a sage. Those artistes who were really afraid of this strategy would attend the shooting sharply at the scheduled time to avert any such ‘misfortune’! But artistes like N. T. Rama Rao, Kantha Rao and Rajanana had always been very cooperative and sincere.
Q: Nowadays computer-generated graphics is being used to create special effects. What is your view about this?
A: These facilities were not available during my days. We used to work out the scenes frame by frame. The art director would do the task. I would squeeze my brain before finalizing a scene. I would take fight scenes and shots where animals were involved as realistic as possible unmindful of the risk. Scenes where skeletons were shown as playing different instruments, the technique used in puppet shows would be adopted. Scenes where the head and the torso were shown separately in action, where the hero was shown as fighting standing on the peak of a huge mountain or on the huge nose or the head of a giant, I would take trick-shots with the cooperation of the cameraman. It would be a hazardous task. Though these scenes would consume more days or even months of work, I used to finish a movie in just two or three months. Today graphics is doing the entire trick. But there’s no creativity to match it. If only I had this facility during my time, I would have taken astonishing and unbelievable shots.
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